Jury Nullification - last hope for freedom http://www.sierratimes.com/03/02/10/robinson.htm Fully Informed Jury Association http://www.fija.org http://www.democracydefined.org/fcdaefijacampaign.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification http://www.chat11.com/Jury_Nullification_California Cal. fucked. Juror's oath to obey judge. http://www.erowid.org/freedom/courts/jury_nullification/jury_nullification.shtml lotsa links http://www.newswithviews.com/Evensen/greg9.htm FELONY JURY TAMPERING: JUDGES WHO "INSTRUCT" JURORS http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5094697.ece?Submitted=true November 6, 2008 Lord Chief Justice: internet generation could be unsuitable as jurors My comment: Methinks he doth protest too much. Perhaps his real problem with 'internet savvy' jurors, is that they may educate themselves about Jury Nullification. Something the government and it's pet judges would much rather jurors forgot all about. Despite that it's the fundamental reason for having juries. http://www.etherzone.com/2009/stang042409.shtml JURY NULLIFICATION - YOUR AWESOME POWER By: Alan Stang 20100704 A zombie sits down to interview Tom Woods on Tom's latest book, "Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrcM5exDxcc&feature=player_embedded 20100705 http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=180316 UK factory saboteurs acquitted 07/03/2010 20:40 Activists smashed arms factory to "prevent Israeli war crimes." 20110209 http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=34309 Judge Bans Handing (Factual) Pamphlets To Jurors; Raising First Amendment Issues Radley Balko points us to the news that a judge in Florida has banned the distribution of certain flyers at or around the courthouse. Apparently, there's a group called the Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) -- which seems like a pretty good idea. Why wouldn't we want fully informed juries? The group has been handing out pamphlets to jurors which basically say that the jurors should vote with their conscience and not feel pressured into voting against what they believe. Seems like pretty standard stuff. However, it looks like Chief Judge Belvin Perry doesn't like fully informed juries. He signed an order barring the group from handing out their pamphlets... raising all sorts of free speech and prior restraint questions. In order to try to get around the prior restraint question, Judge Perry stated that this "restriction upon expressive conduct" was "necessary to serve the state's compelling interest in protecting the integrity of the jury system." The judge clearly knows he's treading in free speech/prior restraint waters in specifically noting that it's a restriction of expression and calling out the "compelling interest" line. Of course, you can't just say there's a compelling interest. There actually has to be one, and I'm struggling to see how better informing a juror of their rights as a juror could possibly be about manipulating a jury or would harm the integrity of the jury system. Wouldn't you think a juror who better understand what being a juror means increases the integrity of the system? It's almost as if the judge is admitting that they want uninformed jurors who don't know their own rights. It sounds like the group is fighting back, so hopefully the ban will soon be reversed and the judge will be given a refresher course in the First Amendment and free speech. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-court-jury-pamphlet-ban-20110204,0,3520722,full.story Judge's order bans jury pamphlets, sparking free-speech debate Distribution of pamphlets or leaflets designed to influence jurors banned at Orange, Osceola courthouses http://fija.org/document-library/brochures/ FIJA brochures 20110227 http://www.fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/government/judicial_and_courts/news.php?q=1298737740 Jury Nullification Advocate Is Indicted 20111130 Prosecutor: Advocating jury nullification ‘not protected by the First Amendment’ Flashback: Jury Nullification : Peers Refuse to Convict Disabled Vet in Pot Bust http://ning.it/uiPkDu Advocating for a controversial legal tactic known as jury nullification can get U.S. citizens prosecuted for jury tampering, according to one Manhattan prosecutor 20120115 http://www.activistpost.com/2012/01/activist-appeals-felony-ruling-for.html Activist Appeals Felony Ruling for Exercising Free Speech Jury nullification activist, Mark E. Schmidter, faces nearly a year in jail after being found guilty of two felonies: External Criminal Contempt of Court, and jury tampering, for handing out information outside the Orange County Courthouse in Florida. What's interesting is that Schmidter is not guilty of any actual law, but rather rules written by the acting Judge. These rules that Schmidter is in violation of are for demonstrating outside of "free speech zones" determined by Judge Perry. 20120421 http://reason.com/blog/2012/04/20/judge-rules-that-advocating-jury-nullifi Judge Rules That Advocating Jury Nullification Is Not a Crime Yeterday a federal judge ruled that distributing pamphlets about jury nullification—even in front of a courthouse—is not jury tampering. U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood dismissed a 2010 indictment against Julian P. Heicklen, a retired chemistry professor who was accused of violating Title 18, Section 1504, of the U.S. Code, which authorizes a jail sentence of up to six months for anyone who "attempts to influence the action or decision of any grand or petit juror of any court of the United States upon any issue or matter pending before such juror, or before the jury of which he is a member, or pertaining to his duties, by writing or sending to him any written communication, in relation to such issue or matter." 20131104 http://www.activistpost.com/2013/11/irs-to-jail-woman-who-owes-0-in-taxes.html IRS to Jail Woman Who Owes $0 in Taxes, Seeks Jury Nullification 20140124 http://fija.org/2014/01/22/jury-nullification-another-path-to-not-guilty/ Jury Nullification bill introduced in NH HB 1452 "requires the court to give an instruction to the jury regarding jury nullification and requires the court to declare a mistrial if the instruction is not given to the jury." The instruction is to inform them of their right to nullify unjust laws. 20140212 http://www.thedailysheeple.com/jury-nullification-exercise-your-right-to-fight-unfair-laws_022014 Jury Nullification: Exercise Your Right to Fight Unfair Laws What would you do if you were selected for jury duty, but felt that the "broken" law itself was unjust, unfair, or unconstitutional? Did you know that, as a juror, you have the right to acquit a defendant in a criminal case if you determine the law itself to be flawed? Even if the court proves the law in question was actually broken, a jury has a right to find the defendant innocent if the law is found to be unfair, immoral, unjustly applied, or unconstitutional. This is called jury nullification. 20140609 "It is not only his right, but his duty...to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court." -- John Adams 20161120 http://fija.org/document-library/essays-editorials/criminal-courts-have-quietly-moved-from-may-convict-to-must-convict-jury-instructions/ Criminal Courts Have Quietly Moved from “May” Convict to “Must” Convict Jury Instructions A great article about the history, and present state, of jury nullification, from the Fully Informed Jury Association [FIJA.] Quote: ". I have sat in courtrooms where judges not only tell juries they “must” convict, but where the judges emphasize the word “must” as they say the word. In my experience, judges seem especially prone to emphasize “must” in firearm prosecutions, perhaps out of fear that jurors might flirt with considering the Second Amendment as a basis for jury nullification. The Dougherty ruling—built upon a carefully-analyzed split decision—has been something of the law of the land for forty years. The decision has been referenced more than 300 times by subsequent judicial opinions. As federal case law has developed, the Dougherty rule that judges need never inform jurors of their power to veto laws (or the application of laws to specific situations) has become the rule in all thirteen federal circuits.